‘Rookies are cheeky’…SSG 2-gun group ‘chill out’
On the 6th of this month, at the SSG Group 2 training center in Ganghwa, Incheon, a senior infielder, A, gathered his juniors and gave them a so-called ‘kick’.
The reason was that rookie infielder B was being ‘cocky’.
It didn’t end there.
Senior pitcher C, who had also received a headbutt, took the blame and hit B in the butt and thigh with his bat, escalating into an assault.
The assault then escalated to a third round as another senior rallied the juniors.
The day after the incident, a second-team conditioning coach checked on rookie B’s physical condition and found out about the assault and informed the club, and SSG immediately responded by filing a voluntary report with the KBO Clean Baseball Center.
“The club is very apologetic, and we have separated the players involved and excluded them from official training and games.”
SSG head coach Kim Won-hyung said, “We feel responsible for our mismanagement,” adding, “In this day and age, such things shouldn’t happen.”
The KBO is strictly investigating the situation and will hold a punishment committee next week to decide on discipline.
This isn’t SSG’s first incident of assault within its secondary squad.
In 2020, under its predecessor SK, senior players assaulted junior players to discipline them for returning to the dormitory late and going out without authorization, which sparked controversy when the club failed to report it to the KBO in a timely manner.
The second-team squad is in a blind spot due to the relative lack of attention. Measures are needed to break the vicious cycle of violence.
SSG #Football #Assault #Bullying
